Airline pilots make too much
12-12-2007, 11:58 PM
#1
Gets Weekends Off
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Feb 2007
Position: C-17 Everything
Posts: 113
Airline pilots make too much
Quoting MarketWatch.com
9) Major airline pilots
While American and United pilots recently took pay cuts, senior captains earn as much as $250,000 a year at Delta, and their counterparts at other major airlines still earn about $150,000 to $215,000 - several times pilot pay at regional carriers - for a job that technology has made almost fully automated.
By comparison, senior pilots make up to 40 percent less at low-fare carriers like Jet Blue and Southwest, though some enjoy favorable perks like stock options. That helps explain why their employers are profitable while several of the majors are still teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.
The pilot's unions are the most powerful in the industry. They demand premium pay as if still in the glory days of long-gone Pan Am and TWA, rather than the cutthroat, deregulated market of under-$200 coast-to-coast roundtrips. In what amounts to a per-passenger commission, the larger the plane, the more they earn - even though it takes little more skill to pilot a jumbo jet. It's as much the airplane mechanics who hold our fate in their hands.
This is the epitome of ignorance. I'd love to see someone go through all the ups and downs, acquire the experience, and suffer the last minute losses of jobs. Give me a freakin break...
9) Major airline pilots
While American and United pilots recently took pay cuts, senior captains earn as much as $250,000 a year at Delta, and their counterparts at other major airlines still earn about $150,000 to $215,000 - several times pilot pay at regional carriers - for a job that technology has made almost fully automated.
By comparison, senior pilots make up to 40 percent less at low-fare carriers like Jet Blue and Southwest, though some enjoy favorable perks like stock options. That helps explain why their employers are profitable while several of the majors are still teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.
The pilot's unions are the most powerful in the industry. They demand premium pay as if still in the glory days of long-gone Pan Am and TWA, rather than the cutthroat, deregulated market of under-$200 coast-to-coast roundtrips. In what amounts to a per-passenger commission, the larger the plane, the more they earn - even though it takes little more skill to pilot a jumbo jet. It's as much the airplane mechanics who hold our fate in their hands.
This is the epitome of ignorance. I'd love to see someone go through all the ups and downs, acquire the experience, and suffer the last minute losses of jobs. Give me a freakin break...
12-13-2007, 04:16 AM
#3
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jun 2006
Posts: 919
OPINION:
I think this post will garner quite a few responses, and rightfully so. One thing I would love to see is ALPA, APA, SWAPA, etc take a very proactive approach from a PR point of view to counteract this negative and wrong propoganda. If the pilots, and their unions do not do anything to "sell" their point of view to the masses, then uninformed bean-counters (like the author of the article) will continue.
I think the unions have done a LOT well, some things not so well, but one glaring failure in my opinion is the lack of aggresive and well done Public Relations and marketing. You truly reach critical mass when you have the public on your side. Why isn't ALPA educating the masses on the work that pilots do? Why isn't ALPA explaining that safety records do not come from automation or luck, but rather from professionals that understand how to use the equipment to manage risk? Why isn't ALPA taking out full-page ads in the Wall Street Journal once in a while to explain that the business travel that always concludes in a safe landing at your destination does not happen by chance?
People on this board can bash the article...but where is a mobilized communication plan from the union to counter this kind of crap?
Just my opinion.
I think this post will garner quite a few responses, and rightfully so. One thing I would love to see is ALPA, APA, SWAPA, etc take a very proactive approach from a PR point of view to counteract this negative and wrong propoganda. If the pilots, and their unions do not do anything to "sell" their point of view to the masses, then uninformed bean-counters (like the author of the article) will continue.
I think the unions have done a LOT well, some things not so well, but one glaring failure in my opinion is the lack of aggresive and well done Public Relations and marketing. You truly reach critical mass when you have the public on your side. Why isn't ALPA educating the masses on the work that pilots do? Why isn't ALPA explaining that safety records do not come from automation or luck, but rather from professionals that understand how to use the equipment to manage risk? Why isn't ALPA taking out full-page ads in the Wall Street Journal once in a while to explain that the business travel that always concludes in a safe landing at your destination does not happen by chance?
People on this board can bash the article...but where is a mobilized communication plan from the union to counter this kind of crap?
Just my opinion.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
